Romeo's

This article is about the former Southside Italian restaurant. For the Bessemer restaurant, see Romeo's Restaurant (Bessemer). For the sporting goods store, see Romeo's Sporting Goods.

Romeo's was an Italian restaurant operated by the Romeo family from the early 1930s to the late 1990s.

From 1941 Romeo's Grill was operated by Virginia Romeo, widow of Mitchell Romeo and their son Alfred in the building known as Restaurant Row or The Strip at 421 20th Street South, opposite the Parliament Hotel. Alfred died in 1968 and his widow Evelyn took over with their sons, Herbert and Ernie.

The restaurant operated at 2110 7th Avenue South for many years, alongside Antwan Garnem's Antoine's Restaurant. In 1986 the dining room was used as a filming location for a scene in the feature film Verne Miller.

The block, known as Block 189, was proposed for condemnation on behalf of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation as part of the proposed site of the Kirklin Clinic. The Foundation ultimately dropped that block from their plans, but in 1988 Brigham-Williams & Associates and Landmark Co. both discussed proposals for large-scale mixed-use developments on the same block.

They were forced to move out of their Southside location in 1992 when the building's owners Terry Henley and Owen Vickers sold the property to the owner of a new Arby's restaurant on the corner for use as a parking lot. Henley and Vickers began tearing up the parking lot used by his tenants before they agreed to leave, blocking access to customers and delivery trucks.

Antoine's relocated to Cahaba Heights. Romeo's closed when its lease ran out December 27 of that year and reopened on April 9, 1993 in the Clairmont Plaza South shopping center on the 3300 block of Clairmont Avenue South in Forest Park. The former restaurant's tables, chairs and booths were moved to the new space.

References

• De Seiding, Peter & Mike Harris (April 20, 1979) "Restaurants, like people, have their off days." Birmingham Post-Herald/Kudzu, p. 4
• Rupinsky, Patrick (July 19, 1988) "Southside block once again focus of redevelopment plans." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. 1,3
• Bereckis, Nancy (Septemer 29, 1992) "A 'lot' of problems." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. B1
• Bereckis, Nancy (October 21, 1992) "Antoine's leaving city limit." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. F8
• Yarbrough, Nancy (June 2, 1993) "Despite move, Romeo's can still charm your Juliet." Birmingham Post-Herald, p. C1